A rare sight was spotted traveling through Houston today. A former FA-18 Blue Angels jet is being transported from Florida to California.
Worldwide Aircraft Recovery is responsible for the task at hand. Traveling cross-country on I-10, making stops in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. With its final destination landing in Atwater, California. The retired U.S. Navy Blue Angel jet will be put on display at the Castle Air Museum.
Pictures of the jet being transported on HWY 290 where shared publicly on social media by Facebook user Melanie Essman.
“The Museum’s Aircraft
F/A-18A Hornet (Bureau Number 161959) entered service in August 1984, with initial assignment to Air Evaluation Squadrons (VX) 4 and 5 for operational evaluation. In October 1984, it joined Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 113. During the airplane’s service with the “Stingers,” the squadron joined VFA-25 in making the first operational deployment of the F/A-18 Hornet during a cruise in the carrier Constellation (CV 64).
During a subsequent cruise, VFA-113 patrolled the skies over the Strait of Hormuz during Operation Earnest Will, the escort of reflagged Kuwaiti tankers through the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf. In 1989, Bureau Number 161959 was reassigned to VFA-203, a Naval Reserve squadron based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Cecil Field, Florida.
The airplane flew with the “Blue Dolphins,” until 1997 when it was assigned to the Blue Angels. It flew with the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron until 2010. It was accessioned into the National Naval Aviation Museum Collection in 2011 and is displayed in the markings of Blue Angels, whose home base is NAS Pensacola.” – National Naval Aviation Museum
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